Closet-seat protector



(No Model.)

T. A. SWANN.

CLOSET SEAT PROTECTOR. No. 467,062; Patented Jan. 12,- 1892.

I I, ull] I v Ill 1W HIHJHW i i THOMAS A. SVVANN, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

CLOSET-SEAT PROTECTOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 467,062, dated January 12, 1892.

Application filed May 21, 1891.

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that'I, THOMAS A. SWANN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in (310set-Seat Protectors; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, suchas willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has for its object to provide a protector for water-closet seats which, while affording complete protection from such contact with the seat as might tend to communi oate disease, is yet so constructed that it may be easily carried by the person possessing and using it and readily placed and secured in position upon the seat; and it consists of the protector mat or cover to be hereinafter described.

I have illustrated the preferred form of my invention in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a plan View of the protector in place on a seat. Fig. 2 is an inverted plan View of the protector. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4 4, Fig. 1.

In the drawings, A designates the mat, which by preference is made of some material impervious to water, such as rubber cloth, so that it may be easily cleaned, and this material is by preference treated with some disinfecting substance or germicide.

Instead of making the mat or cover of substantially circular or oval shape, as has heretofore been common, I make it in general outline approximately oftriangular shape, so that it will cover only the front portion of the seat, that portion which corresponds with the apex of the triangle serving as a flap a, which, when the protector is in place, falls down on the inside of the hole in the seat and covers and protects the front inside edge thereof. The other corners of the mat constitute end flaps a. A protector of this shape would be very liable to become displaced or brushed entirely off the seat were no means serial No. 393,607. (No model.)

provided for securing it in place, and therefore I have provided such means, which consist, preferably, of pins or tacks O, secured to the fabric of which the mat is'composed and adapted to be easily driven into the wood of the seat and thereby securely hold the protecting-mat in place. The form of tacks or pins which I have found best suited to this purpose are the thumb-tacks commonly used by draftsmen and artists, as they have large flat heads and short points. The heads 0 of such tacks are placed between the two thicknesses of material of which the mat is composed, with the point 0 projecting through the lower piece of material, and are secured in place by stitching b, which may pass through both pieces of material; or a patch B may be used to cover thehead of the tack, and this be secured to the fabric by the stitching 1), as shown in Fig. 3. Vere the mat composed of but a single piece of material this means of securing the tacks would be employed.

The protector is folded on the lines d, so that it may be easily slipped into a case and carried in the pocket. In folding, the flap a is laid down upon the under face of the mat, and this insures that when the mat is put in place on the seat the flap will fall down in proper position on the inside of the hole. The end flaps a are then folded down, protecting the points of the tacks C.

The case in which the protector is to be carried will be suitably treated with disinfectants or germicides.

It will be understood that other means than the tacks or pins 0 may be used for securing the mat in place and still come Within the scope of my invention, and also that such means for securing a closet-seat protector in place might be used with protectors of various shapes.

The advantages incident 'to the shape of my mat are that it requires but little material for its construction, and therefore will be inexpensive in its manufacture, and, further, it may be folded into very small compass, so that it may be easily carried.

Without limiting myself to the precise con- 'struction and shape of the protector shown,

what I claim is tacks 0, having the flap a, adapted to extend down by the front edge of the seat or to be folded upon the under side of said part A, 15 and having the end flaps a, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in I presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS A. SWANN. \Vitnesses:

FELIX R. SULLIVAN, J. F. CRAPSEY. 

